American Airlines, Inc. - Retirement 401(k) Review & Grade
American Airlines, Inc. 401(k) Plan for Pilots
Fort Worth, TXTransportation & Warehousing15,894 active participantsPlan year 2024
Estimate from the plan's Form 5500 filing · How we grade
$41,080Employer $ per active participant
$20,521Employee $ saved per active participant
0.02%Direct admin cost, % of plan assets
$11.7BNet plan assets, end of year
$633,664Average balance per account
Score breakdown
- Employer generosity47.8 / 5096th percentile for employer $ per participant
- Low cost22.9 / 2592th percentile for low admin cost vs. same-size plans
- Employee saving14.7 / 1598th percentile for employee $ per participant
- Plan features3 / 10Default investment
- Red-flag deductions-3 pts1 issue reported on the filing
Total score85 / 100 · Grade A
This plan vs. peers
Peers: Transportation & Warehousing plans with 10,000+ active participants (46 plans).
| Measure | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Employer $ per participant | 96th |
| Lower admin cost | 92th |
| Employee saving | 98th |
| Peers that auto-enroll | 30% |
Red flags from the filing
Corrective distributions: the plan refunded $226,706 in contributions, which usually means it failed annual nondiscrimination testing.
What to do if you're in this plan
- American Airlines, Inc. - Retirement put in about $41,080 per active participant, more than the typical peer ($1,415). Contribute at least enough to collect the full match. Skipping it leaves part of your pay on the table.
- The filing shows total dollars, not the match formula. Ask HR for the Summary Plan Description so you know the exact match and vesting schedule.
- Fund expense ratios aren't in the filing. Look them up in your 404(a)(5) fee disclosure and favor low-cost index or target-date funds.
- Changing jobs? You can usually leave the money in the plan, move it to your new employer's plan, or roll it into an IRA. Don't cash out: you'd owe taxes and possibly a 10% penalty.
The raw numbers from the filing
| Employer contributions | $652,908,143 |
| Participant (employee) contributions | $326,156,268 |
| Other contributions (incl. rollovers in) | $34,328,669 |
| Administrative expenses paid from the plan | $2,103,651 |
| Investment advisory & management fees | $1,570,877 |
| Other admin expenses | $19,926 |
| Benefits paid out | $1,263,606,263 |
| Net assets, start / end of year | $10.3B / $11.7B |
| Active participants, start / end of year | 15,991 / 15,796 |
| Participants with account balances | 18,400 |
| Auto-enrollment (feature code 2S) | Not reported |
| Auditor | Cbiz Cpas PC |
Largest service providers (Schedule C)
| Financial Engines | $1,570,877 reported compensation |
| Fidelity Investments Institutional | $827,412 reported compensation |
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filing, acknowledgment ID 20251013090643NAL0000403075001, received 2025-10-13, EIN 13-1502798, plan #022, plan year 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Verify at efast.dol.gov.
Other 401(k) plans filed under this employer's EIN
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